Growing Up
by ToaXabineh
Summary: (No slash, Phantom Planet never happened) Danny has gone through many things, but nothing like this. He finds himself trapped in the Fenton Thermos with his number one enemy: Plasmius. Unable to do anything but wait, something strange happens: Danny and Vlad actually have a relatively normal conversation. Vlad never realized just how much Danny has grown up until now.
**Hello!**

 **So, this is my first attempt at a Danny Phantom fic! I'm a little nervous, actually X_x This idea was inspired by Clumsy Clicker's "Too Close For Comfort" fic! If you like Danny and Vlad friendship, I'd suggest you go read it!**

 **Please review this story and let me know if you like it!**

 **Also, if Danny seems OOC, keep in mind that this story takes place two years after Danny becomes a halfa! I figure as he matures, Danny's personality changes just a little, but don't worry, I tried to keep him as true to his character as possible!**

 **Disclaimer's on my prof.!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Danny had been in many strange and/or unsavory situations in the past two years since he'd become a halfa.

This had to be in the top ten. Maybe even the top five.

He'd been battling Plasmius- nothing new with that, it was a weekly occurrence by now. What was new was when Danny's father had come onto the scene.

While it was true that Maddie was the brains of the duo, Jack had more than enough experience with the Fenton Thermos. He'd sucked up both Danny and Vlad before either of them could fully register what was going on.

And so now they were stuck until Danny's mom came home or Jack got bored and let them out with the idea that he could actually try and dissect them on his own. In all honesty, the later of the two was more likely, and it was a good thing too. Danny, personally, would rather face his dad rather than his mother.

The sixteen-year-old halfa winced as an elbow dug into his side.

"Will you watch it!" He snapped, glaring over his shoulder. Back-to-back with his number one enemy, this proved an almost fruitless attempt, but Danny managed. Vlad glared back.

"I'd suggest you keep quiet, or my powers might just _slip_."

The man's point was proven as Danny felt static crackle along where their spines touched. Danny only scowled, shifting slightly in an attempt to make himself more comfortable, though it was useless to even try. With a sigh, Danny slumped, forehead resting against the cold metal wall. Of all the stupid things to happen...

"Cut it out Vlad, if you try to use your powers the thermos'll only make things smaller."

"I am not a fool you-!" The older halfa paused, looking bewildered. "How do you even _know_ that?"

Danny sighed once more, slightly rolling his shoulders, his upper arms bumping lightly against Vlad's.

"Probably the same way you found out. After Jazz sucked me up in this thing once, I figured I should probably learn the ins and outs of it, just in case." Rolling his eyes, the teen looked back at Plasmius. "I know my grades say otherwise, but I'm not an idiot."

No, Danny wasn't, and Vlad knew that. He'd known since the beginning that, despite the boy's plummeting grades and astounding ability to become distracted by trivial things like many other teenagers, Danny was far from stupid. If he had been, then he would've become a full ghost long ago.

"I...See."

With a huff, Danny's tense form finally relaxed, shoulders slumping and the rest of him going lax. It was rare for the boy to act so...so at _ease_. Usually he was tightly wound up, no doubt from his many battles and encounters with ghost hunters. It was a strange thought that Danny was actually relaxing in Vlad's presence...

Shifting slightly, Vlad managed to get a better look at Danny.

"I suppose we should make the best of this, hm?"

A wary glance from Danny.

"What's that mean?"

Rolling his eyes, Plasmius looked back forward.

" _Meaning_ this silence we've been trapped in is mind-numbing, and I prefer talking to sitting around in uncomfortable silence."

"Okay." Danny replied simply, shrugging. "Go ahead. Talk."

The reply had Vlad's mind reeling for a moment. Danny was never this casual, least of all with him. The boy wasn't acting like they were bitter enemies but rather as though they were simply two normal people who'd met on the street. Managing to recollect his thoughts, Vlad cleared his throat, going to speak-

"And no talking about my mom. We're trapped in here, at least try to make normal, non-stalkerish conversation."

Vlad frowned, giving the teen an elbow to the ribs for that comment, though the strike lacked any of the usual strength that Plasmius used in their battles. Danny grunted as the contact and lightly kicked Vlad's leg in retaliation, but otherwise did nothing. Surprising to say the least, Vlad had thought that his thoughtless action would have surely garner the teen's full wrath. But no, the boy only stood there sullenly. Frowning to himself, Vlad scrounged for a relatively normal topic they could speak about.

"You mentioned school." Vlad finally managed, hoping that this topic would lead to a almost casual, non-violent conversation. Violence was the last thing they needed in this cramped space, especially when it could conform to its residents and make things a much tighter squeeze. "Your grades are still low?"

Vlad could feel Danny nod, the boy's head bumping against his upper back.

"Yeah. My P.E grade's higher than it use to be, but I've got ghost fighting to thank for that. All the other stuff I don't have a chance to study, not with all the ghost that come through on a nightly basis."

It was so strange, having a normal conversation with Danny, but nice in some odd way, and so Vlad quickly managed a reply.

"Not all ghosts are dangerous to Amity. You could always ignore those who can't do any harm, like the Box Ghost."

Danny grunted, shrugging.

"They might not do too much harm, but its safer for them in the Ghost Zone. Wish they'd realize that so I wouldn't have to always shove them back through the portal."

Vlad looked at Danny, bewildered.

"What do you mean?"

Snorting, the teen's bright acid-green turned to Vlad, the boy's head tilted somewhat so he could better see the older halfa.

"Isn't it obvious? With all the ghost hunters around Amity, weaker ghosts like the Box Ghost can get into some really bad trouble. Sure, I fight tons of strong ghosts like Skulker so that they don't hurt anyone in Amity, but the weaker ghosts? After about a year I realized that they couldn't hurt anyone, but they'd get hurt themselves if they stuck around, especially with my parents and their crazy weapons hunting them down, so I just kick them back into the Ghost Zone so they don't get in trouble."

Vlad had to take a good few long minutes to process this.

He, of course, knew Danny's insatiable need to help and protect others, let he'd never known that the teenage halfa worried about ghosts, too. Vlad had never even considered...

"Better not be cooking up another crazy scheme back there, fruitloop."

The use of the nickname made Vlad glare.

"I have no ida what you mean, dear boy."

Danny scoffed, head lolling back as he smirked. Plasmius was surprised as he felt the boy's head rest on his back.

"I can just hear you thinking. I think I smelled some smoke too."

That earned the teenage halfa another light jab to the ribs, but the boy only grinned. Vlad rolled his eyes upwards, seeming to pray for patience, the his blood red gaze returned to Danny. He paused as he saw the younger halfa was still smiling, though it was not directed at him, persay. But still, the expression was an odd one for Plasmius to see on Danny's face.

As silence fell over them for a long few moments, Vlad looked over the teen. He'd grown, the older male noticed not for the first time.

In the two years since the boy had become a halfa, Danny sprouted up a good few inches upwards, the top of his head now at the level of Vlad's chin. Danny had grown his hair out somewhat, the messy raven locks reaching almost to the teen's jaw and looking as if it had never seen a brush in its life, but it somehow was fitting for Danny. The teen's face was steadily losing the roundness of adolescence and taking on the sharper angles that came with adulthood. In ghost and in human form, the boy's hair and eye color stayed the same: Inky black strands and sapphire eyes as a human, pure white locks and blazing, glowing, acid green eyes as a ghost.

Over time, Danny's attire for ghost fighting had changed: the hazmat suit was ditched, replaced with flexible black pants and a white tanktop with a black jacket zipped up over it. Danny had lost the gloves entirely (probably finding it easier to produce and release ecto blasts without the fabric in the way, if Vlad had to guess). The boots were swapped for a steel-toed pair with black laces and lining. His ever familiar insignia was emblazoned on a bandanna tied tightly around Danny's left upper arm.

One thing that Vlad was painfully aware of, as they were pressed back-to-back, was that Danny was still skinny. He was still far stronger than any normal human being and more powerful than most ghosts (which was scary considering he was still growing into his abilities- if he was already stronger than most ghosts, would he become stronger than him, Vlad wondered) but that didn't mean he wasn't still a lithe young boy. His ghost fighting helped him gain some muscle tone, yes, but the boy appeared to hardly eat, a strange thought considering two years back at the disastrous class reunion Vlad had held, he'd seen the boy eat more than his fair share of the food provided.

Danny, by now, had noticed how the older halfa was staring. Glowing green eyes regarded Plasmius with annoyance.

"Quit staring, would'ja?" He demanded, making Vlad blink. "You're freaking me out."

Vlad shook his head with a sigh, turning his gaze back forward to the metal wall a few inches from his nose.

"You're far too skinny, Daniel."

The teenager was confused, shocked and offended by this seemingly out-of-the-blue comment. He sputtered momentarily, trying to find his words, and Vlad couldn't help but smile slightly. Despite how the boy had grown, he still had trouble adapting to social situations.

Finally, Danny managed a somewhat strangled reply.

" _What_? You crazed up fruitloop, why-?!"

"You really should eat more, child."

Danny glared, knocking his foot against Vlad's ankle rather hard, making the man wince.

"Unless you've forgotten in the _two decades_ you've been a halfa, you know people like _us_ almost never have to eat."

Yes, actually, Vlad _had_ forgotten. It had been so long since he'd first become a halfa, he hadn't remembered that as time passed and one's powers grew, the need for food became less and less. It had been a year into his own change that Vlad found he couldn't stomach much food, even if he wanted to.

No wonder that comment had garnered the teen's full irritation, no doubt the boy missed being able to enjoy food. It was a humanly urge, after all. But the boy's ghost side, of course, would deny Danny's body that.

Plasmius always forgot that he wasn't the only one who had suffered the side effects of being a halfa. He always forgot that Danny, too, went through the same horrid problems. More so than Vlad himself, probably, considering just who the boy's parents were.

"I...Apologize." Danny was startled by the man's words. "Its been quite awhile since I was still growing into my powers, I forgot about that particular...side effect."

Danny grunted, shifting so that his arms were folded against the metal wall before him, his forehead resting on his arms.

"Yeah. Whatever. Its fine."

Vlad regarded Danny for a long moment...

"You've changed quite a bit."

Danny raised his head, shooting his nemesis an enquiring look.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Vlad's lips twitched upwards slightly in amusement.

"Two years ago, were we in this situation, you would be trying to blast me with every last bit of your ectoplasmic energy. Back then you were never this...Calm."

Danny shrugged, thin shoulders bumping into Vlad's upper back.

"Well what did you expect? I was fourteen, going through puberty, then I end up becoming a half-ghost? You were lucky, you had it happen to you when you were older." Danny shook his head. "With my hormones? Even now I still have some issues with my powers."

"Issues?" Plasmius pressed. Danny sighed.

"Yeah, y'know," His gaze roamed about the confined container absently. "I'm a kid with raging hormones, and I think it was worse back then. I still sometimes accidentally freeze stuff when I'm not careful, and my eyes go green when I'm mad. Luckily I've got it under control." Another shrug. "Well, mostly at least."

With a huff, Danny pressed his ear to the wall, listening to see if he could hear his mother or father.

"As for trying to blast you? I know a lot more now then I did then. If I try to blast you and the thermos senses the exta ecto energy? It'll just squeeze us tighter, and its already _really_ uncomfortable as it is." Hearing nothing, Danny sighed and shook his head to himself, straightening up once more. "I didn't think things through much back then, but after two years of fighting ghosts, I learned I had to either get smart or get dead. Like I said," Bright green eyes turned to Vlad's face. "I'm not _that_ stupid."

Silence reigned once more as Plasmius stared down at Danny, so shocked that he couldn't speak.

After so many battles with this boy in the past two years, Vlad hadn't even realized that Danny was growing, that the boy was _maturing_. Of course the boy still joked around (there wasn't a battle with Danny that went by where the teen didn't suggest he get a cat), and he still had the raging hormones of a teenager, but...Ghost fighting had aged Danny, at least mentally. At sixteen, Danny should be worrying about girls and classes, what he might want to do when he reached adulthood! But instead, Danny worried about Amity, about its people and about ghosts, about things that no teenager should even think about...

Vlad had learned more about Danny in these past few hours than he had in _two years_.

And that, more than anything, was disturbing to Vlad.

Danny, who'd been listening intently, perked up.

"I think I hear dad moving around!" A spectral tail took the place of the boy's legs. "C'mon, let's get out and I can finish kicking you back to Wisconsin."

The comment startled Vlad so much that a laugh escaped him. Well, at least the boy's priorities were still as clear as day. Plasmius flashed a sharp-toothed grin at the boy.

"Whatever you say, dear boy. Whatever you say."


End file.
